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ONE wonders how many more deaths and how much more destruction will it take to arouse our national leadership from its slumber. Neither the mutilated bodies of 18 members of a family killed in the recent Peshawar market bombing nor the carnage of Christian worshippers at the All Saints Church has shaken them yet.

More than 200 people were killed in terrorist strikes in one week in Peshawar alone, but no one stirred beyond issuing routine messages of condolence.

Instead, the prime minister appreciated the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan for not claiming responsibility for those attacks and blamed a ‘foreign hand’ for subverting peace talks.

Ironically, days later a spokesman for the TTP justified the church attack saying it was in accordance with the Sharia, and was carried out by one of its subsidiaries. While militants continue with their macabre game of death, a spineless and frightened leadership keeps begging for Taliban mercy.

Such a meek and apologetic response from the prime minister is in marked contrast to the tough resolve shown by leaders of other nations when confronted with terrorist threats.

Take, for example, the comments of Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta after the four-day bloody siege at a shopping mall in Nairobi last month.

“These cowards will meet justice, as will their accomplices and patrons, wherever they are,” vowed Mr Kenyatta who himself oversaw the operation against the attackers.

“I promise that we shall have full accountability for the mindless destruction, death, pain, loss and suffering we all have undergone as a national family,” he declared.

Meanwhile, David Cameron, the British prime minister, rushed back home cutting short his official foreign visit because there were several British nationals among the hostages in the Nairobi mall.

But the blood of poor Pakistanis comes cheap. It certainly does not matter to our rulers even when hundreds of Pakistanis are slaughtered. As the death toll of the church attacks was being calculated, Imran Khan went one step further in placating the militants by suggesting that the TTP be allowed to open an office. He ignored the fact that the militant network is outlawed and allowing it to operate openly would legitimise terrorism.

When a bus full of provincial government employees was blown up, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief was calling for taking confidence-building measures to create a “conducive environment” for peace talks with the Taliban. His defence of the TTP has become more vociferous with each bloodbath.

In an article published recently in a national daily, Imran Khan equated the presence of the troops in KP and Fata to military action in former East Pakistan and the TTP to the Viet Cong who fought against the US forces in Vietnam. Such assertions cannot be dismissed as mere naivety; they are a reflection of a twisted mindset.

While our leaders were commending the TTP for distancing itself from the last two major terrorist strikes in Peshawar, the group released a gruesome videotape of the explosion in Dir that killed Maj-Gen Sanaullah Niazi along with two others. It declared the killing of the officers as a great victory in the war against Pakistani forces.

Even that blatant claim by the TTP of the attack on Pakistani forces did not move the federal and KP governments. Nothing can derail peace efforts was the response of the PTI and PML-N leaders.

It has been a month since the all-party conference mandated the federal government to initiate peace negotiations with the Taliban. But there has not been any success yet in getting the militants to the negotiating table. The reason is obvious. The three preconditions set by the TTP — the release of detained militants, withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas and a halt to US drone attacks — are hard to comply with. The prevailing ambivalence has already begun to cost the nation dearly.

It is apparent that the peace talks with the militants are a non- starter. But the government is still stuck to the mantra that talks are the only option. This dithering has already given a new lifeline to the Taliban who were on the retreat from most of the tribal agencies and Malakand, which they once controlled.

The TTP lost many of its senior commanders like Waliur Rehman and the network was fragmented into various factions. But now, the militants have found a new stridency, taking advantage of the weakness of the state. So fearful is the government that it has put on hold the execution of three convicted militants including the mastermind of the 2009 GHQ attack after threats from the Taliban.

Not only has the state failed to protect the lives of its citizens, it has also conceded to the extremist ideology on many policy issues. It is a disturbing reality that radical Islamic elements have as much if not more power over Pakistani society than the state. While the state has failed to develop a national narrative against militancy, an obscurantist ideology holds sway.

With the growing violence against religious minorities, vigilantism seems to have become an acceptable norm. The country has now become hostage to non-state actors forcing their way in through the barrel of the gun.

The authority of the state seems to have all but collapsed. It is not surprising that the courts free more than 90pc of militants allegedly involved in terrorism due to ‘lack of evidence’. It is mainly because the judges and witnesses are threatened and do not want to put their own and their family’s lives at risk when they know the state cannot protect them.

A culture of fear grips the nation as the state has abdicated all responsibility, leaving the people at the mercy of the terrorists. It gives the people little faith when their political leaders surrender to the militant narrative. n

On DawnNews

Comments (26) Closed

Pakistan prime minister is concerned about his own security if he talks against Taliban... how can he protect people

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pathanoo

Oct 08, 2013 09:19am

Dear Zahid Hussain,
My heart bleeds for you and Pakistan. It is a country in name only.

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rcs

Oct 08, 2013 10:59am

Whether Imran Khan has lost his brain recently or was born with such an acute deficiency ?

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rehan

Oct 08, 2013 10:54am

A leader, by definition, knows the way - shows the way - leads the way. Very disappointed with the new leadership especially Imran Khan. If we have to negotiate with the terrorists, well - then do it but not like cowards. Khan Sahab does not have the required self belief and confidence to visualize this menace and then convince / lead the people towards the path of solution. Needs more experience.

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Ann

Oct 08, 2013 10:59am

"It gives the people little faith when their political leaders surrender to the militant narrative."
Well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Why r people choosing such leaders in a democracy?a

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rcs

Oct 08, 2013 11:09am

Has Imran Khan lost his brains recently or was born as such with such an acute deficiency ?

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Vinod

Oct 08, 2013 11:07am

I fail to understand; why elected governments of Pakistan force Pakistan army to take control in its hands!

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BISWAJIT ROY

Oct 08, 2013 11:39am

Imran khan can not justified the terrorist if pakistan want to save itself from terrorism

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K G Surendran

Oct 08, 2013 11:58am

The greatest danger from what has been detailed by Zahid Hussain is that democracy may not survive in Pakistan, considering another theater of uncertainty will open up after the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pakistan could go back to military rule by 2015, and that would be extremely unfortunate, if it does not fix this menace with clear cut policies of not tolerating such elements for whom violence and only violence is the doctrinaire. Bad state policies have come to severely haunt Pakistan and confused policy making, presently, is adding to the despair and disrepute of the country.

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malik

Oct 08, 2013 01:31pm

PML and PTI have both been soft spoken about terrorists and we are not surprised at their reaction but even PPP and Musharaf exhibited same apathy during their rules. We don't know how to wake any 'ghairat' in our rulers. We give up.

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ahmed

Oct 08, 2013 02:02pm

Bitter, but true. Solution is autocratic rule by a person, who is whole is willing to eliminate terrorism from the country. Maybe, a revolutionist leader. But, till now, no one seems to be of such caliber.

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Milind

Oct 08, 2013 04:54pm

Very good article how ever mere writting can not resolve your problem as your society englufed in deep rooted fundamentalism, hate minorities and killing is justified by law of Islam for you it is too late to recover .There is no good or bad taliban but your establishment find out that things and i am suprised by that difference with out fighting you can not win war but you gonna pay high price and for that your people is not ready

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Shankar

Oct 08, 2013 04:52pm

A government scared of its terrorists! A scary situation - for Pakistan and for the rest of the world! May God provide guidance and strength!

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Dawn

Oct 08, 2013 05:07pm

Dude, this article left me wounded.

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insaan

Oct 08, 2013 05:27pm

When a call was made for Pakistan by its proponents, no thought was given as to what type of govt it will have. What would be the role of clergy? How the revenue would be generated for running the govt? How the education would be provided to masses etc. etc. It was created on ad hoc basis out of sheer hatred for hindus. On the eve of independence nations rejoice but many people India and Pakistan were crying on that day as hindus and muslims were killing each other. The strongest proponents of Pakistan the muslims of Delhi and UP suffered the most and are still suffering after moving to Pakistan. The Ulemas who opposed the idea of Pakistan are enjoying in Pakistan and spreading hatred towards minorities including minority muslim sects.

I wish good luck to all right thinking non religious Pakistanis. But I see a bleak future for my neighbouring country where violence is the order of the day among its citizens.

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Sakthi

Oct 08, 2013 06:01pm

Many pakistanins may not agree this, but this is the current state of affairs in pakistan.

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Siyalkotia

Oct 08, 2013 08:50pm

Islamic Republic Of Paakistan, Zindabad.

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BRR

Oct 08, 2013 11:00pm

The Taliban have been killing people for over 10 years, and all long, Nawaz and Imran kept saying the US were responsible, the NATO were responsible. Such liars are never exposed, and people in fact even now believe such lies.

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Riaz Ahmad

Oct 09, 2013 12:02am

@K G Surendran:
You wanted democracy, now you are witnessing its reality. Third democratic transfers of power, there won't be any Pakistan to rule; the retired rulers will be living in Europe and America in luxury with their looted billions.

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Googly

Oct 09, 2013 01:12am

The writer is a war mongering liberal who wants Pakistan to fight with TTP for another decade. The bottom line is that we have been fighting the TTP menace for about a decade now and our military hasn't eliminated them. Terrorism has increased unfortunately. Now we must enter into a peace deal with the TTP as we have no other choice. People like the writer have no solution to our problem and only play with our emotions.

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Kumaraguru

Oct 09, 2013 04:00am

@insaan:
As an Economics Major who graduated in 1984, I have done comparative study of the economies of this region (Pakistan India and China - PIC) alongside those of the Major Economies. During the early eighties, the Pakistani per capita income (PCI) and rupee were higher and stronger respectively, compared to those of India. But the scenario alter discernibly in India's favour since 1991 - except for agriculture and textiles sectors, India emphatically raced ahead of Pakistan in all other areas.

The outcomes being, the PCI in India started to become progressively higher than that of Pakistan since 1996 and behold, by 2007, the PCI of an Indian Muslim started to inch ahead of an average Pakistani with better opportunities to earn...Now overwhelming of the Muslims in India are increasingly getting integrated into the Indian Economic Fabric. This was the result of the systematic and sustained Liberalization, Privatization & Globalization policies implementation by the successive Indian Governments since 1991.

Now the stark reality being - the GDP of India is close to ten-times that of Pakistan and its installed power generation capacity being twelve times greater than that of Pakistan - with Power Plants Load Factor being over 80 percent, the cost per unit produced is less than half of that in Pakistan. This is the contrast the present Pakistani Government has to face-up-to and address.

Populist schemes do not pay, but bleed the economy in the log-run. The root-cause for the present

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Arun

Oct 09, 2013 09:10am

Well written article. When Pakistan was founded, it had leaders who thought like you. Who were bold enough to call a spade a spade. Much has changed because since the 1980's. Somehow, these new leaders (starting with Zia) were cowards who lacked self-confidence. They accepted money from the middle-east because they didn't have enough self-respect, they accepted the terms it came with (support of groups like the Taliban) and are now on the verge of destroying Pakistan because they cannot see the truth or lack guts to follow it. Imran Khan is a prime example.

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Kumaraguru

Oct 09, 2013 06:42pm

As an Economics Major who graduated in 1984, I have done comparative study of the economies of this region (Pakistan India and China - PIC) alongside those of the Major Economies. During the early eighties, the Pakistani per capita income (PCI) and rupee were higher and stronger respectively, compared to those of India. But the scenario alter discernibly in India's favour since 1991 - except for agriculture and textiles sectors, India emphatically raced ahead of Pakistan in all other areas.

The outcomes being, the PCI in India started to become progressively higher than that of Pakistan since 1996 and behold, by 2007, the PCI of an Indian Muslim started to inch ahead of an average Pakistani with better opportunities to earn...Now overwhelming of the Muslims in India are increasingly getting integrated into the Indian Economic Fabric. This was the result of the systematic and sustained Liberalization, Privatization & Globalization policies implementation by the successive Indian Governments since 1991.

Now the stark reality being - the GDP of India is close to ten-times that of Pakistan and its installed power generation capacity being twelve times greater than that of Pakistan - with Power Plants Load Factor being over 80 percent, the cost per unit produced is less than half of that in Pakistan. This is the contrast the present Pakistani Government has to face-up-to and address.

Populist schemes do not pay, but bleed the economy in the log-run. The root-cause for the present

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furyaal

Oct 10, 2013 02:40am

This is height of cherry picking.

Quoting Uhuru Kenyatta to enforce your point. Have not the current president and vice-president of Kenya, along with others, been indicted by International Crimininal Court (ICC) for inciting 2007 pre-election violence in which hundreds of people died?

How many times does David Cameron show concern when scores of innocent non-poms are killed by his armed forces?

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Sanjay

Oct 10, 2013 11:47am

@ahmed:
Strong decisive Leaders don't come from the heaven but from within the society. The Pak society should have zero tolerance to any kind of terrorism and demand that it should end. Unfortunately that is not the case.

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Furyaal

Oct 11, 2013 05:33pm

This is height of cherry picking.

Quoting Uhuru Kenyatta to enforce your point. Have not the current president and vice-president of Kenya, along with others, been indicted by International Crimininal Court (ICC) for inciting 2007 pre-election violence in which hundreds of people died?